Up next in 10
The evolution of beauty in hip hop culture is much deeper than what you see on the surface. In this episode, Sway is joined by two industry powerhouses, Ashunta Sheriff Kendricks and Thembisa S. Mshaka, to discuss the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and health within the beauty space. From reclaiming the origins of global trends to exposing the toxic ingredients often found in products marketed to Black women, this conversation is a must-watch for anyone passionate about culture and wellness.
Ashunta and Thembisa share the inspiration behind their latest exhibition, Hip Hop Beauty, which celebrates the iconic looks born from the creativity of Black women. They break down how trends like the ombre lip, winged liner, and glass skin were originally born out of necessity before being co-opted and rebranded by the mainstream. The discussion also dives into the serious health risks posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics and why supporting clean, Black-owned brands like Ashunta Sheriff Beauty and Billy Talk is essential for the community.
Beyond products, the guests highlight the importance of preserving history through photography. They discuss their mission to help Black photographers get the recognition and financial support they deserve by encouraging fans to become collectors of hip hop art. Whether you are interested in the business of beauty or the history of the culture, there is something in this interview for you.
Chapters
0:00 Intro and Welcoming the Legends
2:10 Reclaiming Beauty Trends and the Cloud Bob
4:45 The Dangers of Toxic Beauty Ingredients
7:20 Sway and the History of On-Camera Grooming
9:30 Details on the Hip Hop Beauty Exhibition
11:50 Supporting Black Photographers and Art
13:45 Put Your Dreams First Book and Closing
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss an interview. Let us know your favorite hip hop beauty look in the comments below.
#HipHopBeauty #CleanBeauty #BlackExcellence #SwayInTheMorning #BeautyInnovation
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
And our next guest are here. Man, these
0:02
are people I've known for decades. One
0:04
for about two decades and the other for
0:06
about three or four.
0:08
You know, and both of them have gone on
0:10
to do some amazing amazing things in
0:12
their careers. And I want to welcome
0:14
them to the show. One is a two-time Emmy
0:17
Award nominated beauty expert,
0:19
entrepreneur, and cultural innovator. Um
0:22
another is an award-winning author,
0:24
essayist, creative executive, and
0:27
founder and CEO of Masha and Shaka
0:30
Media. I want to welcome the one and
0:31
only Ashante Sheriff Kendricks.
0:35
Excuse me.
0:36
>> What are you doing over there? I like
0:38
You're not backing my bag again. You're
0:40
stealing my stealing my gummies.
0:42
>> I know, right? My bad, guys. All right.
0:43
[laughter]
0:44
And to Piba and Shaka, I'm sorry, horse.
0:47
I'm sorry, Heather. I'm just confused.
0:49
>> I know. And it was Well, we had a night
0:51
last night. We hung out last night and
0:53
we did our garage series. Bobby Brown
0:55
pulled up.
0:56
Yeah, he was He hung out with us.
0:58
Legends, Raheem DeVaughn, hung out with
1:00
us and performed. So, we had a big night
1:02
last night with a live studio audience.
1:04
And you know, Sway doesn't handle shots
1:06
very well.
1:07
>> Yeah.
1:08
>> [laughter]
1:09
>> I don't really drink at all.
1:11
Heather polluted my my cup
1:15
>> [laughter]
1:16
>> with poison. And here I am today
1:19
calling her horse. You know what I mean?
1:21
So, I'm just confused, man.
1:24
But but congratulations. You guys have a
1:26
big event today. Let's start with that,
1:28
right? Okay, Tembisa, tell us about it.
1:30
>> We have an exhibition of fine art
1:33
photography called Hip Hop Beauty,
1:35
celebrating the innovations
1:39
in terms of the beauty looks that come
1:41
through the expression of hip hop
1:43
culture that begin with a black women.
1:46
>> Yes. Okay. Give me an example of some of
1:49
those beauty looks that begins with
1:51
black women and have been co-opted by
1:54
others.
1:55
>> Okay, of course, the ombre lip, dark lip
1:58
liner, cat wing liner, you know. you
1:59
know, even glass skin. We were putting
2:01
Vaseline on our faces. People don't
2:03
realize those things that we were doing
2:05
out of necessity actually become trends.
2:07
So, when you see that glowy, beautiful,
2:09
melanated skin, it's Mama said put that
2:11
Vaseline on, you know? So, a lot of
2:13
these trends are just born out of
2:15
everyday need, and then they become
2:16
global, and then the world stage sees
2:19
it, adopts it, appropriates it, sells it
2:22
back to us, tells us they created it.
2:24
And that's what really happens in real
2:26
time.
2:26
>> Wow.
2:27
>> latest one is the cloud bob, which is
2:29
actually the afro, and will forever be
2:32
the afro.
2:33
>> Right.
2:33
>> And you don't get to rename our
2:35
hairstyles.
2:36
>> The cloud bob?
2:38
>> Yeah, the cloud, yeah, cloud bob.
2:40
>> What is that?
2:42
>> Exactly, exactly.
2:43
>> But who's wearing a cloud bob?
2:45
>> I think it was one of the fashion
2:47
magazines. I can't remember which one.
2:49
Oh, it was It was Allure, of course.
2:50
Talk to me, I'm going to tell you which
2:52
one it was.
2:52
>> [laughter]
2:53
>> So, they they tried to sort of rebrand
2:55
the afro as a cloud bob.
3:00
>> That's horrible.
3:00
>> Exactly.
3:01
>> All right.
3:02
>> And this is why we have this exhibition
3:03
to set the record straight on what these
3:06
looks are, where they come from, and the
3:08
history behind them, and the context for
3:10
them. Because, as, you know, Asunta
3:13
created her brand because there wasn't
3:16
product available for us.
3:17
>> Uh-huh.
3:18
>> Right.
3:18
>> Right.
3:19
>> And I mean, there's so much trends that
3:21
are happening for us. Like, I think back
3:23
to being a teenager, there was no dark
3:26
lip liner, you know, so a lot of black
3:28
women were using eyeliner or brow
3:30
pencils.
3:31
>> Yep.
3:32
>> And that started the dark lip liner
3:33
trend, which then MAC, you know, said,
3:35
"Hey, I'm going to make a chestnut lip
3:37
liner. We're going to make a night
3:38
moth." And they And they capitalize off
3:40
of that. And that's fine, that's great,
3:42
you know, but now we have black brands
3:44
like Asunta Sheriff Beauty.
3:45
>> Yes.
3:45
>> Let's say that again.
3:46
>> Asunta Sheriff Beauty.
3:48
>> Asunta Sheriff Beauty. Okay, all right,
3:51
okay.
3:51
>> get that at asuntabeauty.com.
3:53
Um, but
3:54
>> You ain't got to speed it up. [laughter]
3:55
You can get that where?
3:56
>> ashuntabeauty.com
3:58
>> And you spell that?
3:58
>> a s h u n t a beauty b e a u t y dot
4:03
com.
4:04
But this is why you know my passion for
4:07
creating products that are highly
4:08
pigmented, innovative, and skin
4:10
conscious. Because also on top of
4:14
products being created, they're not
4:16
thought with us in mind. Black women
4:18
have the most toxic products on the
4:20
market out of everyone from hair, skin
4:22
care, and makeup.
4:23
>> When you say toxic, can you break that
4:25
down?
4:26
>> They're endocrine disrupting products
4:28
for in terms of ingredients inside of
4:30
products that create
4:32
carcinogens and cancers in our actual
4:34
body and it's been proven. And it's been
4:36
marketed to us. And so it's time to like
4:39
get more clean beauty, more clean skin
4:42
care, and hair care, and body care cuz
4:45
your vessel, your skin is your largest
4:47
organ on your body and it absorbs
4:49
everything. And that's that's the things
4:51
that makes us sick and we not even
4:52
realizing it because we're putting these
4:54
carcinogenic products into our body,
4:56
face, and hair daily.
4:59
>> Wow, man. Mike Muse, you hear this,
5:01
right? HP, that's to me one of the
5:03
reasons I would imagine when you started
5:05
Billy Talk, right? If you guys not
5:08
familiar, HP started her cosmetic line.
5:11
>> for the same reasons. I started a lip
5:13
gloss line of vegan lip gloss.
5:15
Billy Talk and it's I kept black women
5:18
and female entrepreneurs in mind. For it
5:20
is the lip language for female
5:21
entrepreneurs. That's what I call it.
5:22
I'll definitely make sure Ashanta and
5:25
Timbi see you get. But it was for those
5:26
same reasons. You you wake up one day
5:28
and you don't understand, why am I
5:30
breaking out? Where is this coming from?
5:32
Why do I feel this way? And I'm The
5:34
things we put on our mouths directly,
5:36
you have to keep in mind you're licking
5:38
your lips, you're eating food, you're
5:39
talking, and you're digesting these
5:42
products whether you realize it or not.
5:44
So from our toothpaste to our lotions to
5:48
your deodorant. This is a direct effect
5:51
in to your breasts as women, you know,
5:53
and no one thinks about that. They just
5:54
see this is 99 cents. I'll buy it. So,
5:58
if it only cost 99 cents to buy it, how
6:00
much did it cost them to make it?
6:02
And what did they put in it? And what
6:04
did they put in it that they can make a
6:05
profit off of 99 cents? So, that was the
6:08
thought process thought process behind
6:10
this keeping us healthy in the beauty
6:12
section. I love that for you, Heather.
6:13
>> Thank you. Thank you, Ashanta.
6:15
>> Congratulations on that.
6:15
>> Ashanta did my makeup for my first
6:17
video.
6:17
>> Oh, okay.
6:18
>> I did both y'all makeup.
6:19
>> Yeah, well, well, hold up, [laughter]
6:20
Ashanta.
6:21
>> Oh, Swayze, beauty king.
6:23
He's the beauty king.
6:25
>> Let's rephrase that.
6:27
Let's rephrase that.
6:28
>> Let's tell it [laughter] tell the story.
6:30
>> So, MTV, TRL, and MTV News, y'all
6:34
remember it? This brother with locs,
6:36
right? And they had him casket ready.
6:38
You know, they had him really sharp. And
6:40
when they actually brought La La Anthony
6:42
on, they brought me on to help the the
6:45
blacks.
6:46
>> [laughter]
6:47
>> I HELPED THE BLACKS.
6:48
>> I HELPED THE BLACKS with their skin.
6:50
>> Uh-huh. And how what was I when it came
6:52
to makeup? How did
6:53
>> You were you were not wearing makeup.
6:54
And I it took him a while to coax him to
6:58
really like groom him, you know, to make
7:00
him, you know, understand I'm not going
7:02
to put a lot of makeup on you. And he
7:03
looked great. Like, it was mostly skin
7:04
care. That was really it.
7:06
>> It takes some of the shine off the
7:07
Vaseline that you was left in the sun.
7:09
>> Ashanta used to tell me compliment me on
7:11
my skin all the time.
7:12
>> Nobody here it then.
7:13
>> Yes, they did.
7:14
>> See?
7:15
>> Mike, you know what that is? Having
7:16
great skin, Mike.
7:17
Yes, you have to have great skin.
7:19
>> Again, it's definitely skinning on Mike
7:21
Music.
7:21
>> [laughter]
7:22
>> Mike Mike Music
7:22
>> Yeah, oh yeah. Very nice.
7:24
>> Has an entire regimen, though. Mike
7:25
doesn't mess around. [laughter] Okay.
7:27
>> We want to We want to hear about it
7:28
later.
7:29
>> Yeah, all right. I take my skin care
7:30
regimen serious. But, so it's so good
7:32
what you guys are bringing light to and
7:33
particularly the products that we put on
7:35
our bodies and our faces. And I think
7:36
that goes under is underestimated. And I
7:39
think also too is underestimated for
7:41
men. I know we always focus on women,
7:43
but it's always underestimated for men
7:44
and black men in particular to skin care
7:46
and proper skin care regimen. So thanks
7:48
for highlighting this and bringing it to
7:49
the forefront.
7:50
>> Absolutely.
7:51
>> They have an event today and tomorrow
7:53
that's that the public is BET week,
7:56
right? And this whole BET experience and
7:59
you guys are a partnered up with them as
8:02
well with this event. No, okay.
8:03
>> creators.
8:04
>> Culture creators.
8:05
>> Shout out to Joy Brown.
8:06
>> Joy Brown and culture creators are
8:07
having an event. How does actually going
8:09
to that tie in?
8:10
>> today. It's today.
8:10
>> the brunch is the today. This morning.
8:13
>> It's in a couple of hours.
8:14
>> It's it's at
8:16
Beverly Hilton.
8:17
So people can come?
8:18
>> Not to culture creators.
8:20
>> Okay. [laughter] Oh, okay.
8:21
>> But the exhibition is open to the public
8:23
in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton and
8:25
it'll be there until midday on Monday.
8:28
>> Okay.
8:28
>> And then there's a beauty bar
8:30
suite 534.
8:32
You have to RSVP. We don't want it
8:34
overpacked. You want it to be chic and
8:36
intimate. And then there's a panel
8:37
discussion tonight also open to the
8:39
public in Circa,
8:41
the restaurant at the rooftop at the
8:43
Beverly Hilton and we'll be discussing
8:45
all things hip hop beauty.
8:46
>> So the panel is at 6:00 and it's going
8:48
to feature Ashunta, myself, and two of
8:50
the photographers in the exhibition.
8:52
>> Okay.
8:53
>> Mazi Smazi and Stacey Gray who is also a
8:56
hair artist as well. So
8:58
>> Okay.
8:58
>> They'll be talking about process and
9:00
we'll be talking about our founders
9:01
journey. That's at 6:00 at Circa 55 in
9:04
the rooftop restaurant at the Beverly
9:06
Hilton.
9:06
>> Yes, so it's going to be fun.
9:07
>> And y'all have done an amazing job.
9:09
Shout out to Joy. Shout out to Zenobia
9:11
who who even text me and said come to
9:13
y'all's event. I told her that I would
9:15
be Yes, that I would be there for the
9:17
brunch today. Well, this morning. I
9:19
Yeah, so y'all have done an amazing job
9:21
getting the word out there. Thank you
9:23
for the invite.
9:23
>> No, thank you.
9:24
>> And please tell Stacey Gray that I said
9:26
hello. She
9:28
She did some grooming for me for a
9:29
couple of projects. She's great.
9:31
>> Stacey's amazing. She's full circle.
9:32
>> Yeah, I know Stacey.
9:33
>> And she focused on men.
9:35
>> That's why I get going. [laughter]
9:36
and now she's And now she's a founder,
9:38
too. She's a founder of Thebo, which is
9:40
a luxury braid hair care line that we'll
9:43
be showcasing in the suite.
9:45
>> What's one in men's grooming, too?
9:47
>> Yes. Yes, that's right.
9:48
>> What's one place that people can reach
9:51
you if they want to come to these
9:52
events?
9:53
>> Official Hip Hop Beauty is our Instagram
9:56
page.
9:57
>> Okay.
9:57
>> So, we want to definitely invite people
9:59
to get all the updates, the latest
10:01
information because LA is just the
10:03
fourth stop in our journey. Miami, New
10:07
York Fashion Week, Nairobi, Kenya, I did
10:10
that in March.
10:11
This event this week. And then in
10:14
August, I'll be home at the Kelly Pacha
10:17
Hunter Gallery.
10:18
>> Oh, Kelly. Yeah.
10:20
>> August.
10:21
>> August 1st to September 6th, we will be
10:23
showing Hip Hop Beauty in her gallery.
10:25
So, that's going to be a beautiful full
10:27
circle moment to support a black woman
10:29
gallerist.
10:30
>> And And these pieces are for sale, you
10:32
know. We want to really support these
10:34
artists, a lot of photographers,
10:36
especially our black and brown
10:37
photographers that have come up through
10:40
Hip Hop, right? And really like made
10:42
these iconic images. A lot of them have
10:44
not been taken care of properly. And so,
10:47
this also further pushes that mission,
10:49
too, is highlighting the 30, 40-year
10:52
careers of people like Keith Major, you
10:54
know, who's a world-renowned
10:55
photographer, beauty photographer. He's
10:57
like He was a staple for Essence
10:58
magazine for like over 200 covers. He's
11:01
phenomenal and he deserves his flowers.
11:04
And so, we really want to sell this art
11:07
as well to support our our artists
11:09
because they they need that. So, QR
11:10
codes are in the lobby at the Beverly
11:12
Hilton.
11:13
>> Okay.
11:13
>> And also, we want people now with Hip
11:15
Hop being over 50 years old, we want
11:18
people to become collectors of the
11:20
ephemera that they relate to. So, some
11:23
of the artists that are featured in our
11:24
exhibition are Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill,
11:27
Janelle Monáe, Doja Cat, DJ Spinderella
11:30
on the night of her Rock hall induction.
11:33
You know, these are special intimate
11:34
moments and portraits that I think
11:37
belong in people's homes and offices and
11:39
we want to encourage people to support
11:41
black photographers and to collect the
11:44
art from, you know, the eras and the
11:47
culture that they participate in.
11:49
>> I love what you all are doing and you've
11:51
always been on on purpose. I know for a
11:54
fact Tenisha put me on some of my first
11:56
ever panels. She used to work me work
11:59
me, guys.
12:00
>> Shout out to Legacy Mills College.
12:01
[laughter]
12:03
>> And
12:04
uh and in Shanti, we have this history
12:06
together because when I was at MTV, I
12:08
was wildly I wasn't institutionalized.
12:12
And so I was against the grain. I didn't
12:14
know what
12:14
>> You were
12:15
>> [laughter]
12:15
>> and you still are and we love you for
12:17
that.
12:17
>> Yeah, all that people. Thank you. I
12:19
thought they was trying to demasculate
12:21
me.
12:21
>> They were like, "What is going on here,
12:23
man?" What is
12:23
>> Try to make you light skin?
12:24
>> They tried.
12:26
>> [laughter]
12:26
>> I didn't go for it, you know, but
12:27
congratulations on what you're doing.
12:29
The the community, the culture needs
12:31
this and these conversations have to go
12:34
further and so we'll talk again. Tenisha
12:37
>> to give one real shout out, you know,
12:38
big shout out to our sponsors, Moet
12:41
Chandon,
12:42
um to Theebo Hair, to Muse Hair Beauty,
12:46
um to My Sista's Closet Street Beauty,
12:47
Shock and Media and to Culture Creators.
12:50
Um without having that type of community
12:52
collaborative support, we can't do these
12:54
things.
12:54
>> And certainly Hello Beautiful and Hip
12:56
Hop Wired they're our media partners for
12:59
the Beauty Bar.
13:00
>> And you got a book coming again, right?
13:01
>> Yes, so the second edition of Put Your
13:03
Dreams First, Handle Your Entertainment
13:05
Business
13:06
is coming back out this year because the
13:09
game still needs this information and a
13:11
lot of it is held up, a lot of what I
13:12
talked about in terms of digital music
13:15
and media and streaming and how women
13:17
are treated in this business, you know,
13:19
a lot of the predatory behavior that
13:21
we've seen. I tried to help people avoid
13:24
that.
13:24
>> sausage party?
13:25
>> Yeah, [laughter] yikes. Easy.
13:28
So, um it's going to be brought back out
13:31
because I wanted to release it
13:33
independently once the global rights to
13:35
the book reverted back to me. And um
13:38
yeah, look out for that. So, Put Your
13:39
Dreams First, Second Edition coming out
13:41
later this year.
13:42
>> You want to come and see what these
13:44
amazing people are doing today and
13:45
tomorrow? Once again, they can reach you
13:47
where?
13:48
>> At Official Hip Hop Beauty. And my
13:51
personal handle is Official Lip Game.
13:53
And Ashunti's is Ashunti Sherif.
13:55
>> There it is. Thank y'all for coming
13:57
through today. You look amazing. And I
13:59
got so much history with the two of you.
14:00
>> Oh my god. We love y'all so much.
14:02
>> Oh, y'all got it. Welcome.
14:04
>> We're proud of y'all.
14:04
>> We'll see you later this morning.
14:06
>> Yes, yes, yes. The test of time.
14:07
>> Yeah, we're proud of you guys.
14:09
>> Thank you for everything that you do.
14:10
You are a titan in this business and we
14:13
need you. And we're so grateful that you
14:15
have continued to shine a light on
14:18
artists, on makers, on creators um that
14:21
the world needs to know about. So, thank
14:24
you. Thank you for having
14:25
>> My husband [clears throat] wanted to say
14:26
hello. He actually um he was Core
14:28
Kendrick. He was the battle rapper with
14:30
Jessie in Empire.
14:32
>> Oh, yeah.
14:32
>> He was on your show. That's my husband.
14:33
He wanted to give you a shout out.
14:35
>> [laughter]
14:35
>> Tell him bring some bars, too.
14:37
>> Oh, he's he's ready. He's ready.
14:38
>> I know he is.
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